Business Page – September 9th, 2001

Congratulations, but where will you work?

Introduction

Business Page joins the rest of the nation in congratulating all those
bright young students who have performed so remarkably well in the CXC, CAPE
and GCE "O" and 'A' levels. It is a marvel that we continue to
produce the outstanding students in the Caribbean. Let us remember however,
that our development depends not on a few outstanding students but high
overall levels of achievement by all those who present themselves for
examinations and in the subjects and disciplines that the country needs for
its development.

As they celebrate with every good reason- they have generally been
slogging away for the greater part of their young lives - they have to
contemplate a situation in which businesses are closing or being closed down
at a troubling rate, crime and violence, political uncertainty, accelerated
outward migration, and evidence of an absence of meaningful policy responses
to the difficulties facing the country.

Problems of being young

Young people of course have their own problems: they are at a most
difficult stage of their lives. It is almost as if they consider that they
have to rebel against everything and everyone. (One young nephew of mine who
was visiting me in Grenada and who felt I was being unnecessarily confining,
complained to his Mom (my sister), that I was acting as if I was born
'before the wheel was invented'). They have to cope with biological changes
for which their parents may not have adequately prepared them, often
consider their parents outdated and seem to think that they are invincible
and omniscient.

Yet their confusion is understandable. They look around and see too few
role models, a value system distorted by the ostentatious display of money
of dubious origin, an increasingly promiscuous society, sex and violence fed
by the television and social problems, and peer pressure. They see
politicians whose conduct makes them cynical about democracy, honesty and
integrity and wonder whether politicians seek to serve their country or
themselves. They see a country that appears to drift from one crisis to
another and wonder where it will all end. And then they realise that most of
their friends and relatives have long since given up hope, lured by the
North American values characterised by Nike and MacDonalds. Ms.Amlata
Persaud, whose consistent academic performance is fairy-tale stuff, deserves
additional congratulations and admiration for her desire serve her country
after her University education abroad.

The voice of youth

President Jagdeo, who presented himself as the face and voice of youth at
the March 2001 elections, had announced shortly after his victory that he
would have appointed a Minister responsible for Economic Development and
Planning but this appears either to have been forgotten or that the
President does not think that there is any Guyanese acceptable to him who is
qualified for this position. Business Page had welcomed the decision as
recognition that the economy needed greater direction and attention than it
was receiving. The economy and country the PPP/C found on assuming office in
1992 was indeed in a sad state but in truth, the economy had begun to
improve. The opportunity should therefore have been taken to address some of
its structural and systemic problems and the other political and social ills
of the country.

Instead from year to year we hear of new reasons why the economy is doing
so badly. First it was El Nino, then it was La Nina, then it was the PSU
strike and now we hear that it is the global recession. When none of these
was happening, there was always the PNC to be blamed. Despite substantial
debt relief for which some credit must go to the President, many Guyanese do
not consider that they are any better off and increasing numbers are now
saying that there is in fact no hope for the country in the foreseeable
future.

Policy co-ordination

Even small organisations like Ram & McRae and Hotel Tower Limited are
regularly losing staff due to migration. As an employer, can one honestly
suggest to a young person to give up an opportunity to go abroad when the
option to return is always there? And how does the first year student who is
persuaded, or for economic reasons are forced to attend the University of Guyana
(THE UNIVERSITY OF GUYANA), react to being
shut out from the Campus on their first day? And when they do go into
classes, they enjoy furniture on a first come first served basis and have to
sit and wait on a lecturer who may not turn up.

Several years and one Minister of Education ago, we heard of an education
policy that suggested that the sector would get the attention and resources
it needed. But with a change of Ministers, the new-found reticence of the
incumbent, the appearance of little policy formulation and co-ordination
among ministries and a growing number of private operators in the education
sector, it is hard to discern a clear pattern or the underlying rationale of
the country's education policy. Indeed, in one of these private
establishments, students are prepared for the entrance examinations to
institutions of higher learning in the US.

The push and pull of migration

More and more it seems that we are equipping our youths for migration,
facilitated by policies of our so called donors which are reckoned to gain
millions from poor countries in the form of brains moving north. One cannot
but help question the motives of those countries that stipulate how we must
spend aid and debt forgiveness only to have them take it all back in the
form of the most productive segment of our population. As a country we
deserve to earn a return on our investment but with both push and pull
factors in operation, it is hard to see how this can be done.

National service was a great idea that helped to cultivate discipline,
patriotism and hard work while providing a mechanism for them to make a
direct contribution to the country. Unfortunately, like so many great ideas,
national service was discredited and a great opportunity was lost with it.
Our youths see no sense of obligation or responsibility to the country,
perhaps because they see no reason for doing so.

Direction and Hope

There seems to be no real effort to ascertain the country's employment
numbers, a task surely for the Ministry of Labour and the Statistical
Bureau. Surely by now the Minister has settled into his job and seen the
need to change the image of his Ministry from a reactive one to one that
takes its name seriously. One sure way of passing idle hours is to try to
determine the basis, other than Musical Chairs, for the appointment of
Ministers. Despite the spate of redundancies over the past year, little is
known of the efforts of the Ministry in assisting persons to adjust to the
psychological and financial loss and help them find alternative employment.

But it is to the Ministries of Education, Finance and hopefully Planning
and Development that the youth should look for some sense of direction and
hope. While no one wants to see the type of planning typical of the Soviet
system, and that the choice is left to the individual, the country's
education policy - from kindergarten to University - must be designed partly
to meet the needs of industry and commerce. While no learning can be
considered without merit, as a poor country, we just do not have the
resources to offer the range of subjects which richer countries can.

Consequences

There are serious social consequences to unemployment which are perhaps
incapable of measurement. How does a child respond to the question what work
does your mother/father do? And what does that child think about seeing the
parent home all day, every day? How is the family to be fed, clothed and
housed? What about the loss of self-respect, morale and dignity? What is the
point of these remarkable successes if the society offers you nothing at the
end of it?

Conclusion

Government should think of job programmes and tax breaks for employers
willing to employ school leavers. This could take the form of a tax credit
thus helping to meet the cost of employing persons. Special re-training
programmes could provide retrenched workers with skills to take up new
employment or take up self-employment. The higher forms of our secondary and
technical schools should be teaching students how to write applications and
prepare their CV's.

In days gone by, students waiting for admission to Universities would
take up teaching for a year, with the enthusiasm of youth while being able
to communicate so much better with persons of about similar age. Their
modern day counterparts have usually already secured their place at
university or migrated and are more often than not, not in the country when
their results are published.

It is always said with truth embedded in logic, that the youth is the
future of the country. Now, if our young people continue to migrate in the
numbers that they are, does this mean that the future of Guyana lies abroad?